Bound to Shadows (Riley Jenson Guardian 8)

Had to? That was an odd way of putting it. I climbed the steps and walked into the supermarket. "Well, I'm sorry that we cut your fun short, but I'm damn glad he found me when he did. "

"I guess you would be. "

There wasn't a whole lot of choice in the coffee department, so I grabbed some Kona and headed for the cash register. Mike followed - a thorn in my side, indeed. As I dragged out my wallet and paid the woman, I squinted up at him and said, "How come he was the only one in the plane?"

"His choice. " Mike shrugged. "The logical search area was fanning out from where your car was crashed, not hundreds of miles south. "

So how did he find me if he wasn't my twin? Something in my stomach fluttered at that thought, but no matter what I did, I couldn't catch the tail of it and make it so

mething more. Make it a memory.

The woman gave me my change and a smile, and I headed out the door. "So why did he hire the plane?"

And where did he find the money if we were supposedly so broke we couldn't afford to go home and therefore waste the money we'd paid for the villa?

"It's the quickest and easiest way to cover a large amount of ground. " He glanced down at me. "Why does this even matter? You were rescued - that's the main issue, isn't it?"

No, it wasn't, but I wasn't about to say that. For some odd reason, I trusted Harris, but I didn't trust his sidekick. There was something about him that tickled my instincts and said wrong.

"I guess it is. " I forced a smile. "Now, I'd better get this coffee home before my rescuer gets too grumpy. "

Mike stopped on the supermarket landing and leaned against one of the veranda supports. "Don't detour past the crime scene," he reminded me.

"Trust me, I won't. "

And I didn't. But he watched me walk down the long street, his gaze a weight I could feel between the shoulder blades. Mike West didn't trust me, but that was all right, because I didn't trust him, either.

Not one little bit.

D arkness was coming. The colorful flags of dusk took forever to fade, as did the last remnants of daylight. We took pizza out of the freezer rather than ordering in and drank the fresh coffee - which tasted a whole lot better than the muck Evin had been giving me beforehand, but it still wasn't fantastic. But then, Kona was Liander's favorite, not mine.

Liander.

I waited, but no image or information came to match the name. I flexed my fingers against the mug, knowing frustration wasn't going to help, then took another sip. It didn't improve with a second taste, but it was at least drinkable.

Maybe the almost constant, headachy pain in my head wasn't so much caused by blows to my head but rather withdrawal from decent coffee.

After the dishes were washed, Evin glanced at his watch and said, "Well, I'm off to the pub for a beer. You want to come?"

I hesitated, glancing at the sky. "I think I'll go for a walk along the beach instead. I need to stretch my legs. "

"Just don't get lost again. I can't afford to hire the plane a second time. "

"I wouldn't have thought we could afford it the first time. "

He hesitated. "We couldn't. Mom transferred some money to my account. I'll pay her back once I'm working again. "

I nodded, and didn't believe a word of it. "I'll see you in an hour or so. "

"You will. " He shoved his hands in his pockets and walked out.

I waited five minutes, then jumped to my feet, grabbed my purse, and ran out. I didn't bother locking up. There wasn't anything in the villa that mattered to me - everything that mattered was locked behind the hazy pain that still resisted any attempt to ease it.

Evin was taking the main road into town. I raced along the beach, keeping to the shadows and out of sight as much as possible.

When the town center came into view, I cut through a back lane, pausing long enough to check that Evin hadn't actually come onto the main street yet, then dashed across the road to the pub.

It was as crowded and as noisy as the night before. And, like before, it smelled sharply of wolf and humans. This time, though, the scent of desire was more noticeable on the air.